Articulating the Human Condition with Nature: Wendy's "Like Water" EP

"Like Water" is an EP released by South Korean artist Wendy (born as Shon Seung-wan). It is an intimate piece of artistry which encompasses themes of mental illness, healing and relationships. The highlight of this album is the way in which Wendy incorporates natural elements to, in turn, represent aspects of the human condition such as depression, loneliness and love. Not to forget, Wendy's angelic vocal tones and textures amplify the beauty of this project to such an extent which does not stray far from perfection itself.

---

This project has an identity of its very own - especially as it deals with very personal themes which clutter our lives, that are however, are too private to share. Wendy uses her voice to provide words of comfort to heal fellow victims of depression and loneliness in her songs "When The Rain Stops" and title track "Like Water". In "When The Rain Stops", Wendy uses 'rain' to represent our mental illnesses which plague our sense of peace and happiness:

When this rain stops I can just breathe again

Yet, contradictorily, she also uses water as a source of healing in "Like Water":

My love is like water

Filling your sore spots

It covers the deep wounds and embraces you tightly

The first two songs use the element of water to represent the extremes of the human condition: loneliness and companionship which displays Wendy's intricate eye in creative expression. She is able to juxtapose the qualities of an element which is integral to her album's identity, and yet, make it greatly relatable. These opening songs also display Wendy's nature of being kind and giving, embracing her femininity to embody a providing, caring figure.

After listening to the entire project, this quality of Wendy's - being predominantly giving and empathetic - is amplified all the more as she implicitly puts across how she, in the end, is left without the very thing she yearns for, despite being selfless. The first inkling she provides of her own unrequited love is in "Like Water":

I want you to love me

I can feel your pain too

The next two songs: "Why Can't You Just Love Me?" and "Road" explore Wendy's unrequited love and again, use elements of nature of emphasise her sentiments. She uses warmth and the cold to describe her lost relationship, as well as flowers and the wind:

I bloom like flower petals

All of my trembling breath

In this wind, fly fly fly

Only your warmth remains

"Road" explores Wendy's reminiscing of an old relationship as she walks along a familiar road. She once again, uses nature as a healing device to express the idea of new things having the power to help one forget their sorrows:

Unconventional landscapes that I haven't seen

It makes me forget the frustration of a tiring day

This raises sympathy for the overall message this album embodies and ultimately, provides the answer of where this loneliness stems from, which Wendy speaks about in track 1. Wendy is shown to go to lengths for others to heal their mental states whilst being left unfulfilled herself, which is seen to be the unfortunate finality of her character. Wendy also implicitly hints at a tradeoff which exists between giving and receiving love; she gives an ample amount of love, only to receive none.

The final song "Best Friend", a duet with fellow South Korean artist and band member Seulgi (born Kang Seul-gi), is a calming and fulfilling end to Wendy's melancholic prose. It reiterates the importance of a simple friendship, over perhaps something like, romantic love. "Best Friend" is, in simple words, a happy end to a sad beginning; it is Wendy's happy ending as she is left with a companion in the end, filling her void.

In essence, this project was made to comfort; she interweaves natural elements with humane qualities to illuminate their intersections and celebrate their union. It was created by Wendy to provide a companionship in the hopes that it is able to incite a journey of healing, within those who are hurting.